Disability Insurance

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 28, 2015

Long Island lawyer Raymond Lavallee strikes plea deal for reduced sentence in exchange for helping federal investigators find other people scamming disability insurance system; Lavalllee pleaded guilty to orchestrating scheme to defraud Social Security Admin and agreed to pay $2 million in restitution and fines. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Lt Col Daniel Gade, professor of public policy at West Point, has begun campaign arguing that Veterans Affairs Dept should move away from paying disability to veterans and instead create incentives for them to work or create businesses; Gade, veteran who lost a leg in combat, says disability checks can keep veterans locked in idleness and diminish their sense of self worth. MORE

Sep. 13, 2014

Aug. 22, 2014

Justice Daniel P Fitzgerald of New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan dismisses fraud charges against six police officers and two other city workers accused of faking mental illnesses related to Sept 11 terrorist attacks to obtain federal disability benefits; charges were thrown out due to motion filed by district attorney's office that said there was new evidence suggesting eight defendants might indeed be ill. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Many Americans are avoiding tests to have their DNA sequenced, fearful that results may be used against them when applying for life, disability or long-term care insurance; federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA, does not apply to those types of insurance. MORE

Mar. 15, 2014

Op-Ed article by industry expert Glenn Hutchins contends some of America's workplace programs like Unemployment and Disability Insurance desperately need to be updated; suggests converting programs into ladders of upward mobility, enabling workers to stay in work; points out Germany offers some good examples like job-sharing that America should follow. MORE

Feb. 25, 2014

Manhattan district attorney's office issues 28 additional indictments as part of investigation into extensive scheme to defraud Social Security disability insurance; new defendants include dozens of former New York City police officers and eight former firefighters, charged with falsely claiming mental illnesses to obtain more than $21.4 million in federal disability payments. MORE

Feb. 22, 2014

United States Railroad Retirement Board issues report concluding that method of granting occupational disability program payments to former employees of Long Island Rail Road is still so flawed that roughly 96 percent of those who apply receive it, roughly same approval rate as before vast cheating scandal was first exposed there in 2008; board would recommend terminating program if changes are not made quickly. MORE

Jan. 20, 2014

Op-Ed article by Judge D Randall Frye deplores scheme in which retired New York City police and firefighters sought to defraud Social Security disability system by claiming to suffer from post-9/11 phobias of airplanes and skyscrapers; says fraud cost federal government $400 million, making it largest theft in history of Social Security; calls for modernization of antiquated disability courts system that handicaps effective review of cases. MORE

Jan. 10, 2014

Six more New York police officers are arraigned in state court on charges they feigned mental illness to bilk Social Security out of disability benefits; Internal Affairs detectives will be reviewing claims of line-of-duty injuries by scores of retired officers accused in scheme. MORE

Jan. 8, 2014

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance Jr announces arrest of 106 people, including 80 retired New York City police officers and firefighters, charged with faking Social Security disability claims as part of decades-long fraud that has cost federal government estimated $400 million; many of those charged had received disability payments for psychiatric disorders that they falsely claimed were result of Sept 11 attacks. MORE

Sep. 14, 2013

Government Accountability Office says Social Security has made more than $1 billion in improper disability payments to some 36,000 people who had jobs when they were supposed to be unable to work; says improper payments were distributed from December 2010 to January 2013. MORE

Sep. 13, 2013

The federal Commission on Long-Term Care issued new recommendations on Friday, but stopped short of endorsing any new program to help families pay for services. MORE

Aug. 22, 2013

Federal prosecutors announce that more than 70 people have been indicted in Puerto Rico as part of a two-year investigation into widespread fraud in Social Security disability payments. MORE

Jul. 7, 2013

Editorial criticizes Long Island Railroad Retirement Board for only now deciding to cut off payments to about 600 dubiously disabled employees months after doctor who signed off on their diagnoses pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court; contends disenchanted riders are counting on federal authorities and LIRR to get money back from scam and to send a message that such schemers will be punished. MORE

Jul. 2, 2013

United States Railroad Retirement Board votes to halt disability benefits to about 600 Long Island Rail Road retirees, amid a sweeping investigation into what prosecutors have called a major disability fraud scheme; most of the retirees will continue to receive their railroad pensions, which are separate from federal disability benefits. MORE

May. 25, 2013

Dr Peter J Ajemian, orthopedist from Long Island, is sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in fraud scheme that allowed hundreds of retired Long Island Rail Road workers to collect disability benefits to which they were not entitled; prosecutors say Ajemian caused losses of more than $100 million and reaped about $2.5 million in fees. MORE

May. 19, 2013

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki faces mounting criticism over backlog of disability benefit claims filed by wounded or ill veterans; new conservative-leaning nonprofit organization Concerned Veterans for American produced Web video calling for Shinseki's resignation and is sponsoring a similar online petition, which has been signed by more than 9,000 people. MORE

Apr. 20, 2013

Department of Veteran Affairs announces its plans to process 250,000 claims that are one year or older within the next six months; agency has been under pressure to reduce its immense inventory of disability claims for injured and sick veterans. MORE

Oct. 20, 2012

Jun. 3, 2012

Workplace insurers are reckoning with a growing number of payouts to workers with routine injuries who have been treated with strong painkillers that can mask rather than treat cause of pain; painkillers can also increase disability payouts and expenses by delaying an employee's return to work. MORE

Apr. 25, 2012

Eduardo Porter Economic Scene column, prompted by publication of Social Security's annual financial report, says that disability insurance takes too many workers out of the job market prematurely, reduces their lifetime income and slows economic growth; contends that it is critical to fix problems with the nation's disability program but says it rarely receives the political attention it deserves. MORE

Mar. 31, 2012

British Prime Min David Cameron's new get-tough policy has left his coalition government in conflict with thousands of ill and disabled Britons; new bill, in attempt to save billions spent on disability benefits, will make such benefits harder to get and keep; government says measure will also discourage long-term dependency; many who qualified under old system are finding they do not under the over-hauled one. MORE

Oct. 29, 2011

Long Island Rail Road retirees continue to seek, and receive, disability payments, despite revelations of a chronic pattern of abuse of the public benefits system. MORE

May. 5, 2011

NFL players attempting to get benefits for brain-related injuries, similar to those suffered by former Chicago Bears player and suicide victim Dave Duerson, find that coverage under league's disability program often is insufficient; Duerson's neurological injuries would not have qualified for a high level of benefit, if any. MORE

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